The New Year of 1239 was a rather difficult New Year for the Qi State.
The Mongolian cavalry galloped on the Hebei Plain, giving full play to the mobility of the cavalry, looking for Qi's weak points to attack.
Facing the Mongolian cavalry rushing left and right in his own territory, Zhao Tai always maintained his composure. The infantry in his hands guarded the core city and were not mobilized by the Mongolian horse army, lest the Mongols could take advantage of it.
Because the infantry could not outrun the cavalry, the infantry was moved out of the city by the Mongolian army and was vulnerable to cavalry attacks. The Mongolian army attacked east and west, using their speed advantage to leave the infantry behind and attack the city where the infantry was originally stationed. Then the Qi army would Too passive.
On the first day of the first lunar month, because the Mongolian cavalry was still in Hebei, the civil and military personnel of Qi State had to continue working.
These days, Zhao Tai receives more than ten emergency military reports every day, which really makes him sleepy and uneasy.
"Fuck you, the Mongols are so disgusting!" Zhao Tai couldn't help but cursed in the hall.
Wang Bin said: "Your Majesty, after the first lunar month, the Yellow River thaws, and the Mongolian army will withdraw from Hebei. At present, we don't have enough cavalry, so we can only push through."
"Batu, Brother Meng, these two people won't let Gu celebrate the New Year, and Gu can't let them have an easy time!" Zhao Tai said with gritted teeth: "Sir, you all come up with a strategy for Gu. Gu can't be passively beaten all the time. He has to find a way to take the initiative. , let the Mongols also have a taste of being harassed and attacked."
Since the Yellow River froze and Mongolian cavalry crossed the river, Mongolia had massacred five counties in Qi and killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians. Zhao Tai was really angry.
Wang Bin and others have no good solution now. They can only say: "At the moment, we can only let the cavalry continue to put out the fire, and let the tribes along the Yellow River continue to cut the ice, forcing the Mongolian army to withdraw to the south bank as soon as possible."
In the first month of the first month, the Mongolian army conquered Xincheng and Fangshan counties, and then the two Mongolian armies, Batu and Mengge, saw that the weather was getting warmer and the Qi army was cutting ice again, so they turned south and returned to the Yellow River before the ice melted. Henan.
At the end of the first month, after the ice on the Yellow River gradually melted, Mengqi resumed the confrontation along the Yellow River.
In early February, the Qi State began to clean up the corpses, and the counties prepared for spring plowing, while the Mongolian army began to celebrate.
Near Kaifeng, inside the Mongolian army camp.
Batu and Meng Ge summoned the Mongolian generals to celebrate their victory. Everyone gathered in the tent and summed up their achievements in Qi with high spirits.
After the defeat of Wokuotai Langshan last year and Mongolia's loss of Hebei, the morale of the Mongolian soldiers was somewhat low.
This time Batu and Meng Ge joined forces to enter the territory of Qi and slaughtered several cities, which undoubtedly made the Mongolian army feel proud in front of Qi.
Although the Mongolian army did not have the main force of the Qi army in the battle this time, and they mainly killed the people of Qi, the loss of population was definitely a big blow to Qi.
Batu said with some regret: "That fellow Zhao Tai is too stable. I am causing chaos in Shandong, and his infantry is not moving at all. If the Qi army is mobilized this time, we may be able to capture a few states and cities."
Brother Meng cut the piece of meat in front of him with a knife and said in a deep voice: "Zhao Tai is indeed very calm. He was not moved around by us and always covered his vitals. This time we caused a lot of damage to Qi State, and we can make Zhao Tai It will hurt for a while, but when the new cavalry of Qi State is trained this winter, it will be dangerous for us to enter Qi territory again."
When Batu heard this, his expression became serious, "Zhao Tai does have some abilities. When we went on the Western Expedition, he was just a small figure. Now he has dominated Hebei, Shandong, and Huainan, and has become my Mongolian confidant."
Brother Meng remembered Kublai Khan's evaluation of Zhao Tai, "The most terrifying thing about Zhao Tai is not the fighting, but that he develops too fast. If we are not careful and don't pay attention to him for a period of time, his strength will increase." One step up. This time we plundered Hebei and it was relatively successful, but for the next nine months or so, we can only watch Zhao Tai develop. Now I am worried about what will happen to the Qi National Congress in nine months."
Batu frowned and said, "You are worried that in nine months, we will not be Zhao Tai's opponent."
Brother Meng said: "That's not the case. I'm worried that in nine months, if we can't take advantage of the winter to give Zhao Tai another heavy blow, he will have no chance to attack Qi in the next few years, and it will be his turn to attack us."
Batu picked up the wine glass and took a sip slowly, "This means that this year is a crucial year for us in Mongolia and Qi."
Brother Meng nodded: "That's right! If we still can't suppress Qi's momentum this year, it will be even more difficult in the future."
Batu asked: "Then can we suppress Qi this year?"
Meng Ge said: "If the Great Khan did not lose Hebei, it is still possible. Youzhou is not in our hands now. Zhao Tai is backed by the Hebei Plain. It has a large population and sufficient money and food. However, the Henan we occupy is desolate, and the military food needs to be imported from Guanzhong. Transshipment, do you think it can be suppressed?"
Everyone plundered the territory of Qi State, and they were happy to celebrate their achievements, but after hearing what Batu and Meng Ge said, they couldn't be happy anymore.
Batu said: "What if we can unite with the Southern Song Dynasty? After the Southern Song Dynasty was defeated last year, they took a year of rest. After a year of rest this year, their strength will definitely recover. The land of Huainan is extremely important to the Southern Song Dynasty, and they definitely want to take it back. I think we can help the Southern Song Dynasty get back Huainan, and after the Southern Song Dynasty captures Huainan, they can use the canal to provide us with money, food and supplies to fight against the Qi army."
Brother Meng said: "If this is true, Zhao Tai only knows the three places of You, Ji, and Qing, so he is no match for us. However, I don't think the Southern Song Dynasty has the courage to take back Huainan!"
Batu nodded, a little worried, "Indeed, most southerners are as timid as mice. They are afraid of Zhao Tai, and they are not 70% sure. I guess they dare not offend Zhao Tai!"
Brother Meng said: "Having said that, fighting for the Southern Song Dynasty is indeed an option for us to defeat Zhao Tai."
~~~~~~
Shangluo Mountain, Longju Village.
Throughout the ages, Guanzhong has been connected to the outside world. In addition to important places such as Tongguan and Pujindu, there is also a Danshui River.
In ancient times, land trade was time-consuming and laborious, and the goods transported at one time were very limited. However, water transport had a large volume and could carry many goods at a time, which had obvious advantages.
After the Anshi Rebellion, the economic center of the world gradually shifted from the north to the Jiangnan region.
The merchants in Guanzhong who traded with Jiangnan did not go from the east of Tongguan, but passed through Lantian and Shangzhou, arrived at Longjuzhai, then took the Danshui River to enter the Han River, and finally entered the Yangtze River and followed the river to Jiangnan.
Various goods from Jiangnan and Jingchu also went up the Han River and Dan River, landed at Longju Village, and then entered Guanzhong by land.
This trade route has always been safe, but in the past two months, passing fleets have been robbed, causing this trade route to be almost interrupted.
This army that destroyed the trade routes was none other than Guo Xiabao who followed Zhou Kan's suggestion and moved to Shangluo Mountain.
At this time, in Shangluo Mountain, outside Guo Xiabao's stronghold, Zhou Kan appeared again, and this time he came not only to bring Guo Xiabao the military supplies he desperately needed, but also Zhao Tai's will to confer the title.
